Link between Physical Health and Test Scores

Yet another study finds a "link between physical health and academic test scores". It is not sure how many studies must be performed with:

•  small groups and large groups;
• long term or short term;
• young or older students,

before someone high up in the business of education gets it: Fit students perform better academically!

The latest study comes from West Virginia University where author Lesley Cottrell, associate professor of pedeiatrics, found that "children's fitness is associated with their academic performance". Her team found that the fitter the student, the better the test scores. They evaluated 1,200 students and assesed fitness in fifth and again in seventh grades using a standardized test. They also tested students in four subjects (math, science, reading, and social studies) - again using standardized tests.

The hypothesis was that students maintaining or improving fitness scores over a two-year period would have the best test scores. They were right. Who would have known?

Taken a bit further, they found that students who were unhealthy in 5th grade scored worse at reading in 7th grade. Students who were fit in 5th grade but were not fit by 7th grade did only a little better academically. However, those  who were not fit in 5th grade but became fit by 7th grade increased their reading score quite a bit. The best performers were obviously fit students in 5th grade who maintained their fitness through 7th grade.

It is important to note that the emphasis was on fitness not body weight and thereby accommodating different body types, hereditary discrepancies, and cultural differences. It did not matter if a student carried a few extra pounds. Now if we can only get administrators and some parents to wake up to the obvious: Fit bodies = healthy minds.
Michael Cordier